Japanese Nostalgic Car

The Venn diagram of JNC readers and wagon lovers has a pretty big overlap, and it’s easy to see why. Both types of cars are practical, a lost art among automakers today, and Japan is one of the few places on Earth you can routinely see wagons as something other than family haulers. That is way we can scarcely believe we’ve never asked this before:

What’s the greatest Japanese nostalgic wagon?

I’m biased towards Cressidas because I own one but many may not know the reason why. In about 2005 I was walking along Route 246 through Tokyo’s upscale Aoyama Itchome district (The street was made famous in Gran Turismo as the long straightaway passing Honda headquarters in the R246 circuit). It was late and there wasn’t much traffic. That is, until a raucous straight-six roar blasted through, echoing off the skyscrapers. I turned, expecting to see a Supra or Skyline but was instead treated to the vision of a dark blue Toyota Crown wagon much like the one above, dropped millimeters above the pavement, scream through the high-rise canyon. I came back to the US and bought the closest thing I could find, an MX72.

What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What JNC tuning trend needs to stop now?” Continue reading →

Identifying cars like the GT-R or LFA as future classics is like predicting you’ll see a crash in a Russian dashcam video. It’s obvious, and you don’t get a cookie. It’s much harder to recognize a run-of-the-mill model that will achieve greatness. Therefore, we ask:

Which non-sports, non-luxe JNC is destined to be a classic?

Aside from a few specialty models, most Japanese cars were built by the millions. To make things challenging, let’s take sports and luxury models out of contention. That means no Truenos, Presidents, Fairladies, CRX Sis, or Lancer Evos.

What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which People’s JNC is due for a remake?” Continue reading →